Compiled by Carol Park and Paul Hughes
Development continues at Seal Beach Boulevard and Westminster Avenue where construction on a 110-room Hampton Inn is nearing completion and construction on three retail buildings is finished. A Subway is slated to open soon while a Starbucks is already up and running. The Irvine office of Sacramento-based Panattoni Development Co. is building the retail center, Pacific Gateway Plaza. The plaza consists of three buildings totaling 20,000 square feet, plus the hotel. A Countrywide Home Loans and a Charles Schwab are set to occupy 8,400 square feet. Panattoni said it is negotiating with an Italian restaurant, sushi bar and Chinese restaurant for the remaining space. The shopping center isn’t related to Overton Moore’s Pacific Gateway Business Center down the road. Pacific Gateway Business Center has 10 industrial buildings totaling about 830,000 square feet.
Progress on another retail redevelopment continues at Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway where a CVS Pharmacy recently opened. A Pavilions grocery store is set to occupy an 8,000-square-foot building with a Starbucks inside. A Bank of America will take a separate building. Los Angeles-based Regency Centers Corp. is the owner and redeveloper.
Atlanta-based Heery International broke ground on the $20 million state appeals court building on West Santa Ana Boulevard. San Diego-based Carrier Johnson handled the design of the building. The three-story, 52,000-square-foot building is set to house a courtroom, judges’ chambers and administrative offices. Plans call for all the offices for the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three to be consolidated into the new building. Construction is slated for completion in early 2009.
Newport Beach-based John Laing Homes is building 91 “courtyard detached” homes at Brio, a housing project set to open in April. These homes are tailored to customers who want a little of the advantages of both suburban homes and attached condominiums, and to get more homes per acre. Formerly an industrial cold storage facility at 300 S. Euclid St., John Laing bought the land in late 2005. Homes will be 1,600 to 2,000 square feet with three and four bedrooms. Laing is the developer and builder, and has some tentative ideas on price but declined to offer them because of the housing market’s volatility. The project is near La Habra Boulevard.
Construction on an America’s Tire Store is nearly complete. The 6,400-square-foot store at 8281 Warner Ave. is set to open this month. America’s Tire is part of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Discount Tire Co. The store is set to employ 12 workers. The discount tire retailer has no plans for more stores in OC this year but that could change based on market conditions and opportunity, according to a company spokesman. Discount Tire operates nearly 700 stores in the U.S. including 16 in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Escondido-based Erickson Hall Construc-tion Co. demolished an old building and began grading land for administrative offices at St. Killian Catholic Church. Plans call for an administration building and renovations to a multipurpose building. Grading is set to last for two months. The administration building will be linked to the multipurpose building. Once the administration building is completed, a new 17,000-square-foot church is set to begin construction.
